Fade to Black
by Gottahavemyncis
Summary: Tim gets a call from someone from his childhood and things start to happen. Est. McGibbs; slash, no sex; some innuendo, language, endearments, chaste kiss or two. Future fic, season 15 with S11 team, canon families. Friendship, team as family. SPOILER: Palmer baby is a boy here. Written for NFA's "The End" Challenge, slightly different version here. Disclaimer on profile.
1. Chapter 1

Tim was working an electronic search for a cold case when his cell rang. He looked at the id and scrunched his face in thought, the name seemed vaguely familiar. He answered it with a simple "Hello" instead of the usual "McGee" and the difference caught Gibbs' interest.

"Is this the boy who played a cat?"

"Who's calling?"

A sigh and then "Fine, I'll show you mine first. I'm Stash Westler from the Westler Agency. If this really is you, I was your talent agent when you were a kid."

By now Tim had gotten up from his desk and moved to the spot behind the stairs that was the least public. "Ok, yeah. I'm at work, I really can't talk."

"Oh but you'll want to hear this, kid. I've got…"

"No. I'm serious and this is not appropriate. I've got your number; I'll call you later today but not here at work."

"Ok, all right, you always were stubborn. Call me, I promise it'll be worth it."

Tim disconnected and hurried back to his desk. His head was already starting to pound and he'd only talked with the man for a minute. He couldn't stop himself from wondering what kind of deal Stash would have for him now. He had put his acting days behind him and thankfully those childhood records were sealed and he didn't use his screen name so no one on his team knew, almost no one. He didn't want to deal with the others if they found out. His parents knew but they understood his need for privacy and never brought it up, that is his mother didn't. As he and his father were not on speaking terms, he had no idea what the man talked about. Not him, he was sure of that!

Gibbs gave him a look and Tim rolled his eyes, "Won't happen again, Boss." Gibbs kept looking at him and Tim realized it wasn't a 'Boss' look. He looked away, a smile on his face. The two of them had been dating for over a year but they'd been very careful to avoid anything personal at work. They'd told the others months ago and had been happily surprised when no one had a problem with it, but Vance did not and could not know. Gibbs spoke softly now, frowning in concern as he noticed Tim squinting at the light, "Got a headache Tim?"

"Yeah, think that call brought it on. But it's just a headache Bl…Boss. I'll take some aspirin." Gibbs nodded; glad Tim was taking care of himself.

The aspirin knocked the headache down to a dull ache and Tim was back working on his searches when Tony and Ellie came bouncing in. Tony was telling Gibbs what a waste of time that had been, triple checking a lead they'd already crossed off their suspect list. Gibbs raised his coffee cup, hiding his smile. He'd sent them out because he'd wanted some quiet time. He'd started doing that when Ziva was still with them, when he couldn't stand their bickering. When it was approaching an epic noise level he'd find some witnesses to re-interview or something to get them away from the bullpen. Ellie and Tony didn't bicker but they did chatter too much. He never sent them too far, they had to be able to respond if there was a call out, but it still helped and oddly enough it usually helped DiNozzo work off his restlessness. The Team Leader had enjoyed the quiet of the last couple of hours and he was sure Tim had too.

By 1800 he could see Tim was struggling with his headache and he was ready to get out of here. The case they were working on was a cold case with a supposed new lead but it hadn't panned out; now they were going back over everything to see if there was anything missed on previous reviews. They were pretty sure the husband had killed his wife but there was no evidence. It was the complete lack of evidence or anything pointing to anyone as the killer that convinced them it had been the husband; it was too clean.

"Pack up, go home. Be back at 0800 tomorrow." His three subordinates looked at each other and then at him, although he knew Tim's reaction was just for show. "Or I could change my mind and we can catch up on reports." By the time he finished speaking, all three of them were moving toward the elevator. He chuckled to himself, knowing he'd see Tim later at his apartment.

While his house was larger and closer to the office, Tim's apartment was cozy, had the best lock available on the door and was far less likely to be visited by Tony or Abby. Even though they'd been told to call ahead before visiting Gibbs' home, the two often forgot, or claimed they forgot, or called from the driveway as they arrived. Best of all, Tim's place had Tim and his king sized bed. Second best was the huge TV in the bedroom. If his basement had been there somehow, Gibbs would never leave. But it wasn't and he still felt the need every now and then to sand or work on something made from a tree.

He waited for a few minutes and then left going straight to Silver Spring, knowing Tim would have already started cooking dinner. While they still ate a fair amount of takeout, Tim liked to cook and made a healthier effort when possible. Gibbs had been skeptical at first but he had to admit, Timmy's cooking was pretty delicious, healthy or not. When he slipped into the apartment, unlocking it with his own key, he found Tim on the phone. From his tone, he thought it might be the same caller from earlier.

"How is that…no I want to see this deal you're putting together…because I'm not going to let you or anyone else dictate terms to me. If I do this, I want control of the screenplay and casting. Because it's my work and I own the rights, that's why. Ok…yeah, send it to me. No, I don't want it electronically. Send it by courier."

Gibbs listened as his partner gave a mailing address he used for Gemcity mail. Tim had told him last week that there was some renewed interest in making Deep Six into a movie or a series of movies. When they'd been dating for awhile he'd told him about his brief foray into acting in his youth, of the screen name he hadn't used since he was a teenager. Gibbs had heard of the TV show he'd been on but not the movie which had something to do with witches and a cat. He'd asked if they could rent it but Tim had distracted him and he didn't think he'd ever gotten an answer. He grinned; the distraction had been well worth the lack of an answer.

Noticing the tension in Tim's shoulders, he walked up behind him as the call ended and gently took the phone, lay it down on the counter and pushed his lover down onto one of the stools. "Come on, let me do your shoulders and then I'll cook dinner."

Tim gave him a 'come hither' look, "Or you could just do me and we'll eat later."

"Works for me." The two of them headed to the king sized bed to handle Tim's tension.

Later that evening as they sat on the couch eating scrambled eggs and toast, Gibbs pointed his fork at Tim.

"So…who was that?"

Tim huffed. "I work so hard to distract you, but you never let it go."

Gibbs grinned, "And I appreciate the distractions, believe me. So..."

"Ok, yeah, it was about Deep Six. This guy was my agent when I was a kid, no idea how he tracked me down, but he's got some connections with somebody and they want to option the movie."

"Meaning?"

"They want to make a movie of my book. And like any self-respecting author, I'm fool enough to demand as much control over my own work as I can get."

At his lover's questioning look, Tim huffed. "Have you ever read a book and then gone to see the movie that has the same name or claims to be based on the book and wondered what happened to it? Hollywood has its own scriptwriters and is well known for slaughtering innocent books."

"And if you are involved?"

Tim smiled, "I'll have help. Remember I told you I met the guy who wrote Serpico?"

Gibbs nodded.

"He's told me a couple of times he'd be willing to coach me through a movie contract. His books and movies matched fairly well. For Hollywood anyway."

Gibbs shook his head, "Timmy, it's amazing to me that you know this. It's a whole different world. I know you as an agent; I've gotten to know your world as an author and now this!"

Tim smirked at his partner, "If this happens Blue, you're going to see more of DOM!Tim because that's the only way to deal with these guys. Go in, be the fucker in charge and you get results. No negotiating."

Gibbs grinned, "Babe, I know DOM!Tim pretty well - I'm quite fond of him." Something the two had discovered as their relationship evolved was that they liked a bit of role playing now and then.

Tim shook his head as he returned the grin, "Going to be a whole different game, believe me." He thought for a moment, "You know, this could be fun, just telling Tony I'm involved in a movie would be worth the trouble it'd cause."

"He'll want to be involved."

Tim nodded, "It would be cool to find something for him to do, wouldn't it? Jethro…if I do this, I'm going to have to take a leave of absence or quit the agency."

Gibbs frowned, "It would take that much time?"

"Yeah with everything involved, would be a year or two."

"And you'd be back and forth to California?"

"Some of it can be done over the internet but yeah, there will be times I'd have to be there."

"Hmm. How much do you want to do this?"

"On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest?" Gibbs nodded. "About a 5 right now, have to see what 'they' have in mind and what control I'd have over the finished product."

"Will it make you a lot of money?"

Tim sighed, "Hon, you know I've never been that big on money, but yeah it'll make me a boatload of money compared to my government paycheck."

"And you can do all kinds of good stuff with that."

Tim smiled, "Yeah, I sure could."

"What about us?"

Tim swallowed, "_We_ come first, Blue. If we can't find a way to do this together, I won't go any further."

Gibbs was silent, thinking. It was coming up fast anyway. Two years and two months ago, Vance had signed the form that allowed him to stay on as a Field Agent and Team Leader for three additional years. Those three years would be over at his next birthday, admittedly 10 months away but still it was something to consider. When that hit, he would either take on one of the other positions in the agency that Vance had outlined for him or he'd retire. Now he thought that if Tim did this, he'd retire and go with him to California. Their relationship was strong; he knew Tim was his future and that his partner felt the same way. They could even… he mentally shook himself; this could very well be a pipe dream.

"Timmy, does this happen often? Have you had other offers for Deep Six?"

"Yeah, I've had a few but none of them have been anywhere near what I would agree to. And there's been years of silence and then interest again, as I mentioned before."

"So this might turn out the same?"

Tim scrunched his face, "It could but from what Westler said, it sounds like they're taking a different approach."

"Who is 'they'?"

"Ah, good question! Westler wouldn't say; I'll find out when we get the documents."

"Coming by courier."

"Yeah, it's early out there so there's time to make one of the FedEx flights; they should be here tomorrow. Want to go with me after work to get them?"

Gibbs smiled, "Sure, unless…."

"Yep, unless we get a call out."

They changed the subject, talking about their plans for the weekend. November was always busy with Tim's birthday and Thanksgiving. While they planned to putter around Jethro's house this weekend, getting it ready for winter and enjoying each other's company, the following weekend was Tim's birthday and they were going away.

They weren't going far, just to Gibbs' cabin which had been made considerably more comfortable in the last few years. As the bullpen was surrounded by other NCIS employees who always seemed to know the business of Gibbs' team, Tim had casually mentioned weeks ago that he was spending his birthday out of town with Penny, visiting his sister Sarah in Philadelphia where she'd lived since she graduated from Waverly.

Thanksgiving was two weeks after their weekend away. As usual, they'd gather at Ducky's brownstone as they had for several years now although Tim and Breena had taken over more and more of the preparations. In some ways, that's when he missed Ziva the most as she'd been the acknowledged chef of their odd little family; Tim had been more comfortable with his contributions being kept 'behind the scene'. Her departure from the team had been difficult enough but on the next holiday, Tim had outed himself as a cook and shown that he was every bit as good as their missing friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to HarmonFreak1 not only beta'ing this but also for her expert help with the technical details.

* * *

><p>CH 2<p>

There had been additional changes in their lives. Jimmy and Breena's baby boy, little Donnie, was now an active preschooler. He was a very welcome addition to the family as were the siblings his parents adopted shortly before he was born, Ethan and Hannah, who were two and three years older, respectively, than Donnie. Christmas at Gibbs' was certainly more fun with the addition of the three children. Ducky was now retired, a process he started by cutting his hours back over several months until he finally came so close to '0' hours a week that it was ludicrous to continue. On occasion he came in to help Jimmy, now the head Medical Examiner with his own assistant, but he spent most of his time traveling with Penny.

When Ellie joined the team, taking Ziva's desk, none of them had thought about the holidays, but she and her husband had their own families and so they never joined the "Gibbs-Mallard" holiday celebrations. That made for a different sort of vibe; while she had certainly grown into her place on the team, she was never quite a member of the family. Nevertheless, the team continued to lead the agency in successfully solved and prosecuted cases.

Abby was still a force to be reckoned with, that hadn't changed, but she had also mellowed and grown up over the years. Her friendship with Tim was stronger now than it had been for many years.

Tony…well Tony was Tony. He'd matured a great deal but was still their favorite goofball, great and good friend and of course an excellent investigator. His father, known to one and all as "Senior", had died two years before and his estate was still being settled. His death was difficult for Tony but he was grateful that they had worked things out between them. By the time Senior passed his son knew without a doubt that he was loved and cherished and that his father had been very proud of him.

Tim watched the metamorphosis of that relationship and wished he could have that with his own father but it hadn't happened. During his father's bout with cancer there was some reconciliation; however when the Admiral realized death wasn't imminent, he pushed his son away again. Tim made no further effort, he was done.

And Ziva...after Tony saw her in Israel, it was nearly two years before anyone heard from her again and that was when young Donald Mallard Palmer was born. Abby had persisted in e-mailing her with the family news and Donnie's birth was the news to which she finally responded. A gift arrived: a hand knit pair of booties with matching blanket along with a card for Breena and Jimmy. Abby sent photos of the baby with each of them, including his siblings and the Palmers were pleased to receive age appropriate gifts for Ethan and Hannah as well. Finally Ziva thanked Abby for the photos and for being so persistent in her communications. She was working in the Israeli Diplomatic Corps and wouldn't, or couldn't, say more than that. But after that, they started hearing from her occasionally. One or another of them would get a brief e-mailing greeting and on one memorable occasion, a text to Tony on his birthday. When Tim wrote and told her about his relationship with Gibbs, she sent a note congratulating the two of them. While it was good to hear from her, the family missed her and never lost hope she'd find her way home to them.

XXX

The movie proposal arrived from California the following day as Tim predicted and the two men spent the weekend reading through the papers, Tim translating 'movie-speak' into English for Jethro and discussing the possibilities. Tim made notes of everything they talked about and spent a few hours Sunday writing in his questions and changes. On Monday he left home early and dropped the proposal off to be Fed-Ex'd back to Westler.

Tim thoroughly enjoyed his birthday the following weekend, loving the private time in the woods with his partner. Although it had been rainy and cold in DC when they left, it was sunny and not quite as cold up here. They went for a long hike Saturday afternoon, enjoying the very last of the autumn colors. They hiked to the top of a nearby hill and stopped to drink in the glorious view.

Tim sighed in appreciation, "We won't get this in California."

"We'll have beautiful views, just not the colors. But Timmy, we won't be there forever, we can come back here. We're not giving up the cabin."

Tim smiled, "Good thought!"

Monday morning he remembered to check how the weather had been in Phillie before he went into work; he talked about that and Sarah's new novel while Tony enjoyed teasing him about his supposed visit with his sister. Tim appreciated Tony's help in maintaining their privacy; sometimes it was just fun to bait their nosy neighbors with misinformation.

The next two weeks flew by as they investigated a double murder. By the Tuesday before Thanksgiving they had identified the culprit and had her in custody, cooling her heels in Interrogation. Gibbs broke her with his cool stare and she was writing her statement 10 minutes after he entered the room. That meant reports and cleaning up loose ends on Wednesday.

And it was on Wednesday that Tim received a text from Westler asking him to call after he got off work. Gibbs heard the buzz and saw the look on Tim's face. As they were done with the essential reports for the case, he let them go early to avoid the worst of the 'night before the holiday' traffic. Tim's car was in the shop and when Gibbs got called up to Vance's office, Tony offered Tim a ride to pick up the Porsche.

As they drove, Tim realized this was the perfect opportunity.

"Tony, I have something to tell you…and this isn't a certainty, but I can't stand you not knowing."

Tony was surprised, almost shocked. While he and Tim had grown to be close friends over the years the only secret Tim had ever previously wanted to share with him had been his relationship with Gibbs. As that had been a big deal, he wondered if this might be too. He nodded at Tim. "I'm intrigued!"

Tim told him about the renewed interest in Deep Six and the possibility that the current proposal might work.

Tony carefully pulled the car off the road before he let loose with: "OH MY GOD! PROBIE, I mean…WOW that's HUGE!"

He wrapped one arm around Tim's shoulders. "HUUGGE! So how does Gibbs feel about this?"

"We're trying not to get our hopes up, because you know, this is Hollywood, land of half-assed proposals and ruining books made into movies. But still…"

"You going for control?" Tim nodded, and Tony sighed, "That's great but it means you'll have to be in California a lot, huh?"

"Yeah."

"And Gibbs…Oh! He's going with you."

"Yeah. IF this works out, he's going with me; he'll retire and I'll quit."

"No! No quitting, you can take a leave of absence."

"Thought of that but don't know how long it'll take."

"Two years."

"Yeah?" Tim laughed, "I know you're very knowledgeable about movies but I didn't realize you know about all the stuff that happens before or as they're made."

Tony shrugged, "And after, editing and special effects, voiceovers. I didn't intentionally set out to learn it, just sort of happened."

"So when I get the next proposal, the revised one, would you like to look at it?"

"YEAH! Wow, this is incredible Tim! Hmm, did you ask for control in casting?"

"Of course, I've learned something from your rants about casting over the years."

They laughed and Tim dreamed aloud, "Now if I could have a cast as wonderful as Peter Jackson did with the "Lord of the Ring" and "The Hobbit"…"

"Wait…are they optioning one or all?"

"Start with one, but yeah, all 8 of the books."

"Which will probably morph into 3- 5 movies and maybe go to TV as a series after the movies …wow this is exciting!"

Tim grinned at his friend, "If this goes through, Tony…"

"Gonna be a lot of changes."

"Yep."

"So when will you get the answer to your questions?"

"Had a text today, the guy shepherding this through asked me to call him after work."

"That's now, Tim, CALL him!"

Tim shook his head, "Nah, gonna wait until I get home, want Jethro to hear too."

"Right, he's your partner; he needs to be in on it."

Tim patted his arm, "Now you're in on it too, DiNozzo!"

"Yeah, hey thanks for telling me, Tim, this is really exciting!"

Tim chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm and had to bite his tongue to keep from telling him of his idea to find a spot for Tony on the film. He'd originally said it on a whim but the more he thought about it and the more he and Jethro talked about it, the more they liked the idea. If this went through, if it really happened…Tim had cautioned his lover that even with his agreement the deal could fall through, financing could disappear, it could be postponed for years or never happen. But if it did happen and Tony wanted to, he'd find a way to include him.

Jethro's car was in the driveway when he got home. After greeting him with his favorite nickname, Blue to match his eyes, he told him about the call he'd been asked to make and that he'd told Tony about the deal. His lover grinned, he couldn't wait to see what happened next and he was glad Tony knew.

When Tim called Westler, the man crabbed at him for taking so long and then told him the news: Tim's changes and 'requests' had been accepted and another set of documents, a revised proposal, this time with a contract, was on its way but wouldn't reach him until Friday.

For the first time in his life, Tim regretted that the next day was a national holiday. Gibbs' team was off on Friday with Balboa's team on call, so picking up the document at the mail box store Friday morning would not be a problem. He told Blue that this had been too easy; he would ask Tony to take a look at the thing. Then he slapped the back of his own head, "Geez, not just Tony, I can have my Serpico friend take a look too!"

Jethro kissed him, "You're just learning about all this sweetie, don't beat yourself up!"

Tim kissed him back and then reluctantly pulled away to get started on some of the dishes for their Thanksgiving feast. Looking at the list of dishes Tim was making and helping where he could Jethro thought it would be easier to just have everyone over here. But Thanksgiving had always been at Ducky's and Christmas here and who knew how much longer they'd be able to do this. He'd gladly help Tim schlep pans and dishes from here to Georgetown.


	3. Chapter 3

CH 3

When they gathered together the next day they left a chair empty representing Ziva and Kate as had become their custom. The meal was delicious of course, and toasts were raised in thanks to Tim and Breena. Abby and Tony were in charge of dessert and there were three different bakery pies as Abby insisted on a pecan pie while Tony had to have apple. The others had bits of each but mostly enjoyed their pumpkin pie. When the children had been excused from the table and took off for Grandpa's fully enclosed, designed for small children backyard, Penny looked around at them. "There's something different today."

Tim nodded with a smile, "Yes, Penny there is." He looked at Blue.

The two men had talked about whether to share the news of the possible movie and had decided to play it by ear. But they could both see that Tony was having a difficult time not saying anything and so with that look, decided to share the news with the rest of the family.

"Tony's having a hard time because I shared something with him last night. Tony, relax, it's ok, I'll tell them!"

Tony grinned at his friends as Tim turned to the others, "There's been some new interest expressed in making Deep Six into a movie. We've been talking with people in California and went through a proposal earlier in the month. I made a lot of changes to it and sent it back. Last night we were told the changes have been accepted and the revised proposal will be in my hands tomorrow. Now I'm afraid that was way too easy so Tony's offered to look at it for me and also an author I know who's been through this will examine it."

As he'd feared, everyone including the normally sedate Ducky and his unflappable grandmother totally erupted. Abby jumped up and came rushing at him, her hands grabbing his arms, moving in for a hug. He pried her strong and painfully bony hands off of him and quickly stepped aside, avoiding being trapped by one of her hugs. For the most part she'd stopped them, to everyone's relief, after she cracked two ribs of a relative stranger she'd hugged, sending them to the hospital, and found herself being arrested by Metro PD on an assault charge which was later dropped. Now, while Tim was evading and Abby was stalking, Tony, Gibbs and Jimmy yelled, "STOP!" She stopped in her tracks and looked up at Tim who had his arms out in defense mode, ready to fend her off. Her face fell, "I'm sorry, I got carried away. But I'm so happy for you!"

He smiled, "Thanks Abby." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek and then pulled quickly away before she forgot herself again. He sure didn't want to ruin his long weekend with bruised ribs! After the excitement died down, those who hadn't cooked cleaned off the table; did the dishes and watched the children while Tim and Breena went for a walk. She shook her head, "She almost got you and she was at full force."

"Yeah, I know. How sad is it that when I went to my first mixed martial arts class I asked to learn how to defend against a rib cracking hugger?"

She huffed, "She's strong and she's already proved she can hurt with those hugs. I don't think it's sad, I think it was smart!"

He chuckled, "Thanks! But you know, it's because she's got so much energy and love that she needs to share. It's just unfortunate for us ordinary humans."

Breena changed the subject, "So how excited are you about this whole movie thing?"

"I have mixed feelings…if it even happens. We'll leave the agency – Jethro would retire and I'll, well I hope I'd be allowed to take a leave of absence, we'll see."

"That means Tony would be Team Leader?"

Tim nodded, "That's what Jethro's always wanted, to hand it over to him. And he's more than ready; he led the team for a few months 10-11 years ago and did fine. And with me gone too, that might even make it easier for him to be the boss."

"What about Ellie?"

"Tony's pretty much always acted like a boss with her; he's always been the SFA, so it wouldn't be much of a change."

"Will you miss it?"

"Oh yeah, I can't imagine not being aboard the Yard every day, finding the answers, tracking down the bad guys." He paused, "And I'll miss _us_, the team. Ellie's settled in fine, but we still miss Ziva; heck, the three of us still miss Kate and she's been dead over a decade now. Not having that team, not having that safety, knowing these people will back you and you them, no matter what, that's hard to imagine."

Breena smiled at him, "You know that's not going to disappear if you're no longer carrying a gun. Somewhere along the line you guys became family and you're still family, _we're_ still family, always will be."

Tim grinned, "Yeah, it's great, isn't it? But it will be different, a lot different." He huffed, "But I don't want to count on this, there are too many unknowns ahead. We could sign a contract, get out to California, fall flat on our faces and be home the next week. It happens all the time."

"That author you mentioned, he or she has been through it?"

"Yep, had his book made into a very successful movie and parlayed that into movies from his other books. I met him at a book fair when we were both there signing." Tim tilted his head remembering, "He actually approached _me_, said he'd read all my books, loved them and wished he could meet the real people behind the characters." He laughed, "I'd read his books but hadn't seen that first movie; luckily it's one Tony talks about a lot and I remembered enough to sound halfway intelligent. I borrowed the DVD when I got back and watched it, never told Tony why. Anyway yeah, he offered to help me if a serious movie offer ever happened."

They'd made the trip around the long block; their typical after dinner walk at Ducky's and were once again in front of the house. Tim looked up and saw the lights shining from the windows. He swallowed and Breena patted his arm. "Tim, wherever any of us are will always be home for the rest." She continued, "And our Ducky and Penny have a lot of life left in them. He's recovered so well from his heart attack that they can't find any trace of the damage."

He nodded, that had been part of what he was thinking; that and the fact that Ducky was now the age Jackson had been when they'd lost him.

"Maybe we'll take them with us. Maybe we'll just take all of you with us!"

She laughed, "There you go! We'll certainly visit, the kids are old enough to appreciate Disneyland now and I think I would prefer the weather in southern California to the humidity of Florida's Disneyworld."

They entered the house and were greeted by their family once again sitting at the dining table, this time playing a board game with the children. The Palmers were the first to leave an hour later, the kids falling asleep at their game. After that everyone drifted out the door, laden with leftovers.

As tired as Tim was he had trouble sleeping that night, both excited and anxious about what he'd find in the new package in the morning and it didn't help that Blue had fallen straight to sleep! Tim finally drifted off around 0300. When Jethro woke at 0500 his lover was curled up in his arms. He cuddled him for awhile but finally laid him gently on the bed so he could hit the head and get some coffee.

He didn't know if FedEx would have delivered the package yesterday or would do it this morning and waited impatiently for the mail box store to open for business. When someone finally answered the phone, he was relieved to hear that Tim had a package waiting for him. Tim was still sleeping so Jethro popped down to the basement to do some sanding on his current project. He looked at it, wondering if he'd finish it and if it was the last project he'd do down here. That was stupid, they wouldn't be gone forever! And yeah, California didn't have basements but there could be a shed or a garage somewhere that he could work in. At 0900, he started cooking breakfast and when that didn't wake Tim he turned the burners off on the stove, went upstairs and woke him with a kiss

It was nearly 11 by the time they got on the road, this time taking the Porsche. When they picked up the package it was noticeably larger than the first one. They went straight home, put the package on the kitchen table, sat down and looked at it. Tim got up and rummaged through his laptop case, returning with the card his fellow author had given him. Before they opened the package, he sent him an e-mail asking him if he'd take a look at it. Then he again joined Blue at the table and they stared at the package again.

"Need more coffee."

"Yeah, good idea."

They had more coffee and then Tim muttered, "Rip it open."

Jethro snorted, "Careful, don't want to tear an important document!"

Tim nodded and opened the thick FedEx package. They stared for a few more minutes and then Tim took the letter opener Jethro brought home from Stillwater four years ago and slit open the large envelope. They took the documents out and scooted their chairs together to read them, Tim making notes as they went.

They took their time; it was nearly three hours and another pot of coffee before they'd been through most of it. Tim was still suspicious as all of his changes and requests had been incorporated; he figured he either wasn't asking for enough or wasn't asking for the right things. They called DiNozzo and then waited for him.

Jethro made turkey sandwiches for the three of them with cranberry sauce and a thick layer of stuffing. Tim looked at them and laughed, "I can't believe we're eating that!"

Gibbs huffed, "You liked it last time I made them."

Tim gave his partner a sweet kiss, "I do my blue eyed sweetie! I just feel guilty about it!"

"Huh food guilt, another Thanksgiving tradition!"

DiNozzo arrived so quickly Tim thought he'd probably already been on his way when they'd called him. The three men ate their sandwiches and pie and then Tony tackled the document, after Tim made him wash his hands. Tim was so nervous waiting for him that Jethro finally dragged him down to the basement. "C'mon, help me sand. That'll calm your nerves."

"Ok, I can do that." It might have calmed his nerves but watching him, Jethro was afraid he'd sand the wood down to nothing but sawdust. He removed the piece of his project Tim was working on and gave him a large rough piece of scrap, "Here, work on this instead." Tim nodded and then sat in thought and his partner let him be.

Tony finally appeared at the top of the stairs, "I'm done!" Tim grabbed Jethro's hand and nearly dragged him to the stairs while Jethro made a valiant effort to put the router he was holding down onto a solid surface. He finally left it on the stairs as he followed Tim. Tony had made his notes separately from the document, marking which section he was referring to. There weren't a lot of notes, he told Tim he'd done a great job in the first pass but there were ways to fine tune it. Tim nodded as he read through, yeah he could see that he'd been too general in some of what he asked for and Tony was more specific, that was good, really good.

After Tony's run through, Tim met with his fellow author who went through it, complimenting Tony for his notes and Tim for his valiant first effort. Then he gave Tim 3 pages of notes, in addition to Tony's, for changes and additions. When he'd added everything in, he took it to an attorney recommended by his buddy. The attorney approved of what they'd done and the contract in general and so feeling much more confident, Tim sent the package back with the additional changes.

Then they waited. By the end of the first week in December Tim had decided the deal was off; Jethro tried to be supportive but wasn't all that sure what direction either of them wanted it to go. Tony was rock solid certain this was going to happen, that the changes just had to go further up the food chain to be approved.


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4

On the 10th of December, the team was at a crime scene in Rock Creek Park. Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head at Tim when they heard the location; it was a long-standing joke between them that they wished criminals would be a little more considerate with their body dumping choices. Unfortunately the very dead Petty Officer had had no say in the matter. They were canvassing the scene for physical evidence, taking pictures, following their usual procedure when Tim's cell buzzed with a text. As he was in the middle of extracting a piece of something from a nearby tree he ignored the buzz until he had the specimen in an evidence bag and marked. He turned to head back to the van and found Gibbs, Tony and Palmer standing and staring at him while Palmer's assistant watched the others watching Tim. Jimmy snapped out of it when his assistant set the body bag out on the ground. Ellie was interviewing the runner who'd found the body and hadn't noticed anything odd about her team - or at least nothing odder than usual. The Petty Officer's car was in the parking lot so Gibbs ordered Bishop to have it towed back to the yard and to stay with it. As they'd all driven over in the van the three men piled in, buckled up and headed back to the office. On the way Tim pulled out his cell and looked. "It's Westler, wants me to call him."

"Call him now Tim!"

"Nope Tony, it can wait."

Tony and Gibbs both groaned although they knew Tim was right. Vance remarked later that day that Gibbs' team seemed in more of a hurry than usual, and that was saying some, to get this case solved. At one point the Director called Gibbs up to his office and asked if they were worried about additional attacks or murders. When Gibbs returned to the bullpen he cautioned his team to be as thorough as they always were; that the dead Petty Officer deserved their best work. That was when Ellie knew something was up: while she just rolled her eyes, her partners frowned at each other and nodded, taking Gibbs' warning to heart. They worked in shifts, each of them sleeping for at least 5 hours and by late afternoon on the 12th they had it figured out. Tony and Ellie went to bring in the suspect and Tim and Jethro went for coffee so that Tim could make his call.

When Westler answered he crabbed again about the length of time it had taken Tim to return his call but backed off when Tim told him they'd been tracking a murderer. "So your books are real life?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that's pretty exciting! Well listen kid; I have good news and bad news. The good news is they went for everything you sent in and congrats on that, you did a super job!"

Tim's heart was thumping so loudly he was sure anyone walking by would hear it. "Thanks, what's the bad news?"

"They want to get started the first of the year so we'll need you out here by January 7th."

"Wow, that soon!"

"Yeah, not a problem right?"

"No, it's not, I'll be there."

"Ok, great! Now, someone else will be contacting you about your flight and where you'll stay and all that. You should hear from her in a couple of days."

"When we get started, will I need to be there for a block of time?"

"Yeah, figure a couple of months. At least."

"Ok."

"You have any more questions, send me a text."

"I will Stash; I'm sure as soon as we disconnect I'll have a lot more."

Westler chuckled and then continued speaking, "I FedEx'd the package with the contracts to be signed yesterday so it should be there already. Need those papers signed and notarized asap, kid."

Tim swallowed as he agreed and finally disconnected. He joined Jethro as he was leaving the coffee shop with a tray of hot beverages. "So?"

"Um, yes."

"Oh my God, Timmy!"

"Yeah, I know. I want to yell and jump and down but…"

"Yeah, let's get this scumbag's confession and then we'll go out and celebrate."

"The contract is here already."

"Ok, we'll get that first and then go celebrate."

"Blue, they want me there by the 7th of January. "

"The 7th? That's less than a month!"

"Yeah."

"For how long, did Westler say?"

"He said two months at least."

"Ok, I'm going with you."

"I was thinking…"

"What?"

"You know Jimmy and Breena are saving for a house, they don't want to take the money from Breena's family or from Ducky. Would you consider renting your house to them while we're gone? "

"Hmm, it's paid off, so we won't need to cover a mortgage. So rent it for cheap, the cost of property taxes and utilities?"

"Yeah, something like that. Then they could save more money and buy a nicer house and you'd have people in the house you trust. They'd both be closer to work and I've heard it's one of the best school districts."

"Babe, that's a great idea. Let's figure out the details and see if we can talk to them over the weekend. What if this falls apart?"

"Then we'll come home, beg Vance to take us back and rent an apartment. I'll still have the money they're paying me up front and you know I have the Gemcity funds too."

They reached the bullpen and found that Tony and Ellie had just returned.

"Dirtbag is in Interrogation 1, Boss."

"Why don't you leave him there for a bit, Tony, and then you can do the honors."

"Me? But Boss…" Tony looked at their faces, "Yes?"

They nodded, grinning and he grabbed them and Ellie who still had no idea what was going on but had long ago learned to go with the flow with these guys.

"Oh man, I can't believe it!"

"Guys, I have no idea what's going on here."

Gibbs pulled back, "Meet in Abby's lab in 5 minutes. Tony, call Doc."

While Ducky was in the process of retiring they'd found that it was faster to call Palmer "Doc" and each team had eventually started using it. It was easier to remember and closer to Duck or Ducky and Jimmy much preferred it to 'autopsy gremlin'.

When Ellie showed up in the lab, Abby frowned, "Bishop, i don't have anything more for you."

"Gibbs told us to meet down here, Doc is coming too."

"Huh? Oh!"

"You know?"

"Well maybe, not sure."

But when Abby saw Tim's face as he walked into the lab, she squealed and held her arms out, "Please, I need a hug."

"Make it gentle Abby, I need to breathe, I'm not losing this because you've cracked a rib!"

Gibbs was just behind him and when he saw Abby starting to squeeze too hard, he pulled her off.

"He told you to be gentle, Abby, knock it off!" Tony and Jimmy came in together and Gibbs gently pushed Abby toward them. He nodded, "Tim has something to tell us."

Grinning, Tim told them the good news and finally they could let their excitement out. When they finally calmed down, there were some questions. "When? When are you going?"

"The first of January."

"Oh good, you'll be here for Christmas."

Abby looked at Gibbs, "Gibbs…"

"I know Abs, but it's not forever, we'll be back and forth until it's done."

"But this is the end of an era; you're giving up the team!"

He rested his hand on Tony's shoulder, "It's about time DiNozzo here takes over, he's been ready for years now."

Tim nodded, "Since Director Shepard."

Tony looked at them, reality starting to hit him. "Man this isn't going to be fun." He glared at Tim, "You'd better be taking a leave of absence."

"Up to the Director, but yeah, I hope so!"

Gibbs turned to Doc. "Jimmy, like to speak with you and Breena in the next few days. Tim has an idea we'd like to run by you."

The M.E. nodded, "Want us to come over or you come to us?"

"Be easier if we come to you."

"Ok thanks for that; let me see what Breena's got going."

Ellie was still standing there, in shock. Tim's book was going to be made into a movie and he was going to California, Gibbs was going with him. That part made sense, she knew about their relationship. The team was breaking up. She'd been here for a few years now, long enough to feel a pang that the two men would be leaving and the team would be changing. She would be fine working for Tony; she was used to taking direction from him. She looked at Tim and Gibbs, "Have you told the Director yet?"

Tim shook his head once, "No, we'll need to do that very soon."

Gibbs added, "He's at the Pentagon today; he'll be back in the morning."

Tim nodded, "I'll call Pam, make an appointment."

Abby's phone rang, one of the other teams looking for information, so the group broke up. Tony went to interrogate their suspect while the others watched from Observation.

Ellie said, "How come Tony's doing this but you're still here watching? I thought you'd be out of here tonight!"

Gibbs shook his head, "I'm still Team Lead, and how many more times will I get to watch him do this?" Tim agreed and then smiled as Tony worked his magic on the suspect. Within a few minutes he had a confession and they met him in the hall while Ellie headed back to the bullpen. "Good job!"

"Thanks Boss. You guys leaving?"

"Yeah, got to pick up the papers and everything."

Tony looked a little forlorn. "You meeting with Vance tomorrow?"

Tim nodded, "Yeah, I'm coming in early to tell him what's happening, hope he'll approve a leave of absence."

Gibbs continued, "Then I'll go in and tell him I'm retiring and recommend you for Team Lead position. And if he asks, I'm just going to tell him the truth – that I'm going to California with Tim."

He gave Tim a look and got a grin in return. "Tony, when you're done here tonight, come celebrate with us. We're going to Ribiero's for dinner, meet us there."

Tim added, "My treat for all your help and because I can't imagine celebrating this without you!"

Tony blinked, "You're right, you shouldn't be celebrating without me; that would just be wrong! Meet you there at 7?"

"Yep, reservation's under Gemcity."

"Of course!"

When they walked into the restaurant that evening, they found Tony waiting for them at the table with a bottle of champagne on ice. The three men spent the evening celebrating the new adventure and their long partnership working together.

The next morning Tim arrived aboard the Yard early for his appointment with Director Vance. He was admittedly nervous and as he'd told Gibbs, he had mixed feelings. They both did. Leaving this place, this team, such a huge part of their lives, would be very difficult. If it had to be a final cut, if he couldn't at least have the slight comfort of a leave of absence he didn't know how he'd deal with it, he didn't know how Jethro would deal with it. But the planet would continue its travels around the sun whatever decision he made; he couldn't bring himself to pass up the opportunity to see his work and the characters that represented his family on the big screen, so here he was. Squaring his shoulders, he hurried up the stairs, just wanting to get this out there to the Director.


	5. Chapter 5

Vance waited for his agent; certain he knew what this was about, especially with the second appointment that had been scheduled. What he didn't understand was why this would be happening now. He'd looked the other way and Gibbs' team was still bringing down more bad guys, solving more crime than any other team. He hadn't noticed any animosity or problems between the team members or with the lab. He shrugged, guessing he'd find out in a few minutes.

When Agent McGee walked in his door, Vance wasn't surprised to note some confusion in his agent's eyes. He hoped he could help. "Come on in McGee, have a seat." He gestured to the conference table and Tim pulled out a chair but waited until his Director took his seat before he sat.

"Thanks for meeting with me on short notice, Director." Tim took a breath. "I've had some changes in my life and I need to be away from the agency for a few months…" He shook his head and started over. "My books are being made into movies, at least one movie, and I'll be heavily involved in the process; I'll need to be in California a lot. I don't want to quit my job or the agency; I'm hoping you'll allow me to take a leave of absence."

Vance didn't even try to keep his jaw from dropping he was so surprised and happy for his agent. He'd been a big fan of Gemcity since the first book, since before he'd met Timothy McGee and this was exciting news. He reined himself in; they needed to focus on Tim's employment with the agency…that was the issue.

"When does this all start, have you signed contracts?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, that's all done for now. They want me out there by January 7th and I'm told that will be for two months. Director, to be honest, a lot of these deals fall through or get delayed for years. If I see that happening in those first few weeks, then I'll shut it down, the contract allows for that."

"For you to shut it down."

"Yes sir, I had help with the contract from a fellow author who's been through this and another friend with a lot of knowledge and of course an attorney." He continued, "I'd like to use my personal leave for at least part of that first chunk of time. When that runs out, if the movie is still moving forward, that's when I hope the leave of absence will kick in."

"You realize a leave of absence does not carry any guarantee of a future job as a field agent?"

"Yes sir."

"And your benefits, well…you'll need to talk with HR about that."

"Yes sir."

Vance finally gave in to his excitement about the news and chuckled, "You've thought this out, I know better than to ask! I'm excited for you, this is a big deal and I don't want to stand in your way nor do I want to lose you from the agency. Yes, I'll agree to the leave of absence on one condition."

"What's that Director?"

"You promise to stay in touch!"

Tim smiled, "That's a promise, sir!"

Vance was quiet for a few seconds but he just couldn't resist. "Gibbs is going with you, isn't he?"

Tim's mouth opened and shut and he sat there in shock, finally settling for a: "Sir?'

Vance remembered what he'd seen. "I've known for months but it's never made a difference in your work or with your team. I only know because I spotted you two out coming out of a movie theater one weekend and you were laughing and talking with each other and well, I uh…followed you to a restaurant and there was certainly more there than friendship. We weren't at work nor was it work-related so I didn't have to acknowledge it; kept an eye on things for several weeks but never saw any reason to say anything."

His eyes twinkled, "I'm glad you two found each other."

Tim smiled shyly, "Thank you, so are we." He suddenly chuckled, "Is Gibbs your next appointment?"

"Yes."

The younger man grinned, "I'm not going to say anything to him then, about you knowing."

"Thank you, surprising him is always a fun challenge!"

"We were both surprised when we told the others; I think Abby was the only one who hadn't figured it out."

"Doesn't surprise me at all, you are the agency's best investigators, after all." He paused, "I figured this appointment was about one of two things: one, either someone was unhappy about the relationship and you were going to ask to be transferred to a different team or two, and this has been my worry for years now, you'd been poached by another agency."

Tim snorted, "And you think even if I wanted to go, Leroy Jethro Gibbs would allow that, one of his team to be poached, one of his handpicked team? An attempt to poach, sure, I've had offers over the years, but to actually allow me to leave? Not without a lot of…persuasion. And certainly not without some dead bodies, one of which might be mine!"

They both laughed at the truth of that, Gibbs was very proud of the team he'd built and also very possessive. There were several stories in "Gibbs-lore" that explained why the man was so possessive and after hearing them Leon understood, to some degree.

Knowing Blue would be downstairs for his morning visit with Abby and a check in with Doc, Tim figured he was safe to go for coffee and avoid his partner's scrutiny. He bypassed Gibbs' favorite coffee vendor, walking a little further to one that was DiNozzo's favorite, mostly because of the baked goods. He chuckled when he saw Tony's car parked nearby and snuck up behind him in line. In a spot-on imitation of their boss, he spoke in his ear, "DiNozzo, you're late!"

His friend jumped and then laughed, "Geez, that's really good! What are you doing here?"

"Saw the Director, wanted to get out before Gibbs went in; I'll tell you later - that is if I still need to."

"Ooh, can't wait!"

They ordered beverages and pastries for the extended team and Tim rode back with Tony, holding everything on his lap. When they went through security, Henry squinted, "Now I know I logged you in earlier, Agent McGee!"

"You did Henry, but DiNozzo needed help so here I am."

"Ah, I see….I think." They laughed as they headed for the elevator. When they got off on their floor, Tim spotted Jethro walking down the stairs from the Director's office, an amused look on his face. When he saw Tim, he smiled and shook his finger at him. Tim grinned as they met in the bullpen. As he handed him his coffee, he said softly, "Sorry couldn't resist and hey it made Vance happy and he needed that after figuring out he was losing both of us."

Gibbs smirked, "Oh yeah, that made him happy, he got me good." When they told Tony, he laughed so hard he snorted his coffee.

Within an hour, the news had spread throughout HQ that both McGee and Gibbs were leaving and why and that DiNozzo was the new Team Leader. They figured that by 1100 the news had hit every NCIS office worldwide, whether they were currently open for business or at home asleep. All three agents were deluged with e-mails congratulating them. Vance wasn't happy about losing two of his best agents, but the boost the news gave to morale, that a movie was being made about them even if the agency name was thinly disguised, took away a little of the sting.

Gibbs and McGee met with the Palmers that evening and the couple took a couple of days to consider Gibbs' generous proposal that the family rent Gibbs' house for a token amount, just enough to cover property taxes, insurance and at Jimmy's insistence, wear and tear on the property. After all, with three young children in residence something was bound to get broken! Gibbs agreed to the extra and they shook on the deal, later drawing up a rental contract. He'd donate some of his furniture and the rest could be stored in the basement. All of his tools, however, would be moved to California once they found someplace to live.

The team caught a homicide the next day, pulling them right back down to earth and it was three days before they got home for anything more than a few hours sleep. After they arrested the bad guys and did their preliminary reports, they left work with Vance ordering them to stay away until Monday, giving them a three day weekend. By this time Tim and Gibbs had decided to keep Tim's apartment for awhile along with the garage he rented for his Porsche. It had room for another vehicle so Gibbs moved his Charger in and his old pickup took the second slot in Fornell's garage. Along with Jethro's tools, Tim's bed and electronics, the Porsche and the Charger would eventually move with them to the West Coast.

Tobias' jaw had nearly dropped to the floor when he heard the news of the movie and the move to California. He'd known about the relationship from the start and was happy for his friends but a little sad that he would no longer be able to sweep into NCIS making dire threats and get his butt kicked in return. That was a decades old joke between Gibbs and him and while he liked and respected DiNozzo, it just wouldn't be the same. He'd read Tim's books and liked them, especially the characters based on Ron Sacks and him: Agents Baggs and Tornias. When the guys told him the news, he snorted, "Hey, you need an FBI consultant, I'm in!" Gibbs chuckled while Tim looked thoughtful and then nodded.

Two weeks before Christmas, the production company called and asked Tim to come out to California the following week for a two day meeting. Gibbs stayed home while Tim flew first class, the first time he hadn't had to use Gemcity's frequent flier miles to upgrade. He'd been told who to look for in Baggage Claim at LAX and smiled when he recognized an older version of his former talent agent. They shook hands and then Stash guided him out to the Lincoln Town Car and driver waiting for them. The meetings were intense and there was much less babble than Tim expected. He listened and learned and spoke up when he needed to. One of the things he quickly learned was that there was a need for a consultant right away, that person would have to be involved during the writing of the screenplay and Tim would have his hands full, he needed help. He and Jethro had talked about this and it wasn't something his partner was interested in taking on. Tim had another candidate, the one he'd had in mind since this whole thing started. After the pre-production meeting, he spent a few minutes with the producer, giving him the name and phone number of the man he wanted for the consulting job. One of the things Tim had already learned was that with this production company he had a lot more clout than he'd thought he would.

* * *

><p>Note: Sadly, the man who wrote 'Serpico' died in 2001. And I am deliberately not using that author's name or the actor's name in the story because has a rule that prohibits writing about celebrities by name. It was a challenge I set for myself: to have the real world intersect with the fictional show characters without using real life names. So fictional Tim McGee was known in his youth by his real life doppelganger's name and met a real world albeit already deceased author who had several of his books made into movies. *Shrugs*, what can I say…it's fiction about fiction.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

CH 6

He was back in his hotel room after a swim when his phone buzzed with a text, "Can you talk?"

He replied, "Yep." and then waited for the call. When it came, he heard squealing and cheering and all sorts of happiness.

"Tim I can't believe it, really?"

"Of course Tony, who else could possibly be the consultant for the agency?"

"Wow, that's just…wow! The guy who called said you were insistent."

"I told them you were the only one I wanted for the job. That is _if_ you want to do this."

"If? **_IF_**? Probie!"

"That's good man because this wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you!"

"Gibbs didn't want to do it?"

"Nope, says he's afraid he'd hurt someone when they start their movie-babbling at him. I thought of talking to you about it before I left but decided to wait and see what happened here."

"They want me on the 9th."

"Same week, that's great! So…did you give them your answer yet?"

"No, I need to see the contract first. And I wanted to talk with you, McBoss. Wow!"

Tim laughed, "Is the contract on the way?"

"Yeah, it'll be here tomorrow. And then I need to tell Ellie and Jimmy and Breena and oh Abby and Ducky…"

"Don't forget Jethro, he knows you're getting a call."

"Ok, after I accept, he's my first call, then Ellie and Abby."

"And…?"

"Huh? Oh geez, Director Vance."

"Hey Tony?"

"Wha..?"

"You might want to get that contract looked at and signed before you tell Vance or anyone besides Jethro. You can have that attorney I consulted take a look at it before you sign anything and maybe my buddy. You have those cards I gave you?"

"Yeah, I couldn't figure out why you gave them to me. Huh."

Tim snorted and the two friends laughed together. When they hung up, Tim called Jethro and updated him and listened to his cheers. "Hey Blue, I was thinking…"

"Mm?"

"They have all kinds of carpentry work they do at the studio, would that interest you?"

"I'd like to see it. Not sure I'd be any good at building under pressure or building the throwaway things they do, but I'd like to check it out. And Timmy, I was going to wait until you got home, but…Vance asked me today if I'd be interested in consulting with OSP while we're out west."

"Hey, that's great!"

"Yeah, he asked what I was going to do and I told him about the stuff I have planned, volunteering for Habit for Humanity and the homeless shelters and maybe some work at the studio – and he asked me if I thought I could squeeze in some time for OSP."

"Blue sweetie, that's wonderful!"

"And..." Tim heard the phone clicking, "That's Tony."

"Ok love you, call me after?"

"Will do Babe, love you!"

Tim took the red eye home the next evening after his last meeting, slept most of the way and was very happy to see his partner waiting for him outside Baggage Claim in DC. They stopped long enough to buy treats for the rest of the team and then headed into the office. Jethro made a noise as they drove, "Have to tell you Vance knows something else is up."

"With Tony you mean?"

"Doubt he knows it's Tony, I told DiNozzo to play it like an undercover op, but he knows there's something more in the air. He's got good instincts, Vance does."

"Tony get the contract yet?"

"He's picking it up this morning and taking it straight to the attorney."

"Huh, well that's good but yeah, I could see Vance might be upset at losing a third agent – and the new head of his MCRT."

"Uh huh."

Tim shook his head, "Have to say I was thinking more about how much Tony would love the job than about what it would do to resources at HQ."

Gibbs nodded and then ruffled his lover's hair. "Missed you bad!"

"Me too, was only a few days but it felt like a month! I'm so glad we're doing this together Jethro."

They walked into the office together, Tim laughing when he saw the inflatable palm tree in his work space. It was the same one Abby had used to welcome him back from LA and the OSP several years ago. Gibbs gave him a flash grin and then quickly assumed his poker face. "McGee, get that thing out of there!"

"Yes Boss! Sweet of Abby though."

Gibbs just grunted as Tim pulled the plug on the tree, the air rushed out and the thing folded in on itself. When Tony came in an hour later, he was calmer than Tim had expected, then he remembered DiNozzo had assumed an 'undercover' persona for the duration and that nobody besides the three of them knew what was going on. Tim was deep in a cold case review when he sensed eyes on him and looked up to see Vance at the catwalk railing observing the team. They nodded to each other and Tim got back to work. They ended up working late that night as Tim found a hint of a possible new lead on that case. He applied for the warrants they needed the next day when they had enough information to do so, but by 1600 there was no response and the head of the Legal Dept. flat out told Gibbs they weren't going to interrupt anyone this late on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for an 8 year old cold case.

In the meantime, Tony slipped out mid-afternoon for an appointment with the attorney reviewing his contract. When Gibbs' phone rang over an hour later, he answered it, said "Uh huh" and hung up. Ellie waited a beat and then asked, "Do we have a call out Gibbs?" He shook his head, "Nah, just DiNozzo letting me know he's on the way back."

By the time Tony walked in the door, Gibbs had had the conversation with Legal and had managed to let Tim know that Tony's contract was good and that he'd already called the production company with his acceptance. Vance walked down the stairs shortly after DiNozzo's return and raising his voice, told everyone to go home and when the MCRT hesitated, gave them a raised eyebrow. Wishing Bishop a Merry Christmas as the four split for their cars in the garage, Tony followed Tim & Gibbs to the house. When he walked into the house, he laughed when he saw the banner across the entrance to the living room, congratulating him on joining the team. Gibbs pulled the champagne out of the refrigerator where it had been chilling since last night while Tim pulled Tony further into the house. "C'mon man, tell us!"

"It was perfect, I made a couple of requests and they're in the contract, so yeah, I'll see you guys in LA on the 9th of January!"

"And you'll tell Vance day after tomorrow?"

"Yeah, don't want to ruin his Christmas; he is not going to be happy with me."

Tim shook his head, "No, I think I'm the one he's not going to be happy with, he'll know it was me that put your name out there."

They stopped celebrating long enough to order in and then resumed once they'd eaten. Tony crashed on the sofa that night and never noticed Gibbs sneaking back downstairs in his Santa hat, putting presents under the tree. Tim was still upstairs working on last minute gifts for Abby and the Palmers.

When dawn broke on Christmas morning, Tony woke groaning at his headache and nearly rolled off the couch. He opened one bleary eye to find a glass of water, cinnamon toast still warm from the toaster, and two aspirin sitting on the coffee table. He ate the toast, took the aspirin with the water and tried to be patient until the analgesic kicked the pain in his head. Finally the hammering stopped and after cleaning up, he sat with his friends and had the rest of his Christmas breakfast.

Taking turns showering, by midmorning the three were ready in the Christmas attire which Abby mandated each of them wear; she insisted they wear at least one item of clothing that reflected the season. Luckily, Tony had a suit and dress shirt in his car, just back from the dry cleaners, so he donned the dress shirt and slacks, borrowing a pair of Christmas socks from Tim who was also wearing Christmas socks. Tim had a butcher-style Hanukkah-Christmas apron he'd inherited from Ziva that he would wear part of the day and Gibbs wore a muted red and green striped string tie that he absolutely hated but wore for Abby and all three men had Santa hats.

Ducky and Penny were at the Palmers watching the kids open their Santa gifts; they'd all be over in the early afternoon for more gifts and dinner. When Abby arrived at Gibbs', they had snacks and their favorite hot beverages and once Tim had their dinner entrée in the oven, they opened their stocking gifts.

Once the four of them were sitting, Tony told Abby the latest news. Predictably, she shrieked and then had to be stopped from squeezing the air out of Tony's lungs. He was glad that was over with, he'd dreaded telling her and the three men had decided to do it now before the Palmers arrived as her shrieks upset the youngsters. Once she calmed down, first Tim and then Gibbs sneaked back out to the kitchen and removed the ear plugs they'd been wearing under their Santa hats.

The rest of the crowd showed up before too long and then the fun really started as the Palmer children tore open their presents from Uncles Gibbs, Tim and Tony and Aunt Abby. Gibbs chuckled as he watched little Donnie, remembering his second Christmas when he was more interested in playing with the paper than in the toys, books and clothes inside the paper.

At dinner Tony told the others his news and they spent over an hour talking about the opportunities and changes at the agency. At some point Abby finally realized that 3 of her favorite people would be gone very soon and she started to tear up. That was when Tim gave her and the Palmers their last gifts, vouchers for roundtrip airfare to California. Tim explained that it was too early to know the best time for their visit but that the three of them: Gibbs, Tony and him, wanted to pay for their tickets when it was time. That earned more hugs and it was Penny's turn to keep an eye on Abby to make sure no harm was done. Penny had already told her grandson that Ducky was planning to surprise her on her birthday in February with a trip out west. With the amount of travel the two did, Tim was not worried about missing them, he was sure they'd be visiting plenty during the cold winter and humid summer of Virginia.

Knowing Tony was going to have to tell Vance the news the next day, Jethro wanted to get their day started so they went in very early and finally got the warrants they needed for their electronic and physical searches. Tim set up the electronic searches, wondering how long it would be until or even if he'd be doing anything like this again, although Ellie was as adept at them as he was, which relieved him considerably. Tony also taking a leave of absence would mean a new Team Leader, SFA and Junior for the MCRT; Ellie would be the only one left from their team, from Gibbs' team. Tim got a lump in his throat and resolutely changed his thoughts, he needed to concentrate on his work; he could get sentimental and maudlin after they busted this case. Ellie arrived shortly after he did and for once sat on her chair rather than on her desk or the floor. She announced she was so full she was never going to eat again and then laughed when Tim snorted at her.

Tony hurried in, tossed his bag down, straightened his tie and headed upstairs. Gibbs returned from his morning visits to Abby and Doc and second coffee run and asked for a sitrep from his junior agents. When Tony came back downstairs he shrugged and then smiled.

Gibbs cleared his throat, "We have the warrants; let's go get these people. McGee, you need to stay for those searches?"

Tim almost laughed, he hadn't needed to stay in the office for the searches in years; instead he shook his head, "No Boss, I've linked it all to my phone and I have my tablet, all set."

"All right. DiNozzo, you and Bishop take the van, we'll meet you there."

When they got in the sedan, Tim asked, "What was that about?"

"Aw Timmy, I'm a little sentimental today, was remembering how we used to have to leave you in the office."

"Got ya. I was having kind of the same thoughts earlier. Going to be strange not coming here every day."

Gibbs snorted, "Not shoveling snow or waiting for the plow to show up. Not dripping wet from the humidity, yeah, it'll be strange but we'll adapt." He paused, "Not chasing bad guys though, that's the thing, huh?"

Tim nodded.

"Well then, let's get this old case solved and get some justice for the family. It'll be a good exit for us."

In the van, Tony decided he'd wait to tell Ellie on the way back, neither of them should be distracted from their work at this point. He was comfortable with his decision and now he was able to focus on his job. His current job, that is.

They found both their persons of interest at the first location, which made things a little easier. They surprised the first one and had him in cuffs and in the sedan before he knew what had happened to him, but the second one saw them coming and bolted. Tim and Tony went after him and after a chase through a neighborhood happily lacking fences and outdoor pets, the suspect turned to fight. Tim was watching his body language and when the man was ready to strike with a wicked looking knife he'd pulled from somewhere he swept the dirtbag's legs out from under him; the man fell on his butt with a thud and the knife went flying. They quickly had him cuffed with the knife bagged and marched him to the street. Gibbs had called for an additional sedan and agents to transport the second suspect and they were just arriving.

Once both locations were searched and they were back aboard the Yard, they let both suspects stew; letting them build up their fears and suppositions after their long hiatus. Tony and Ellie took the physical evidence down to Abby's lab and it was there that DiNozzo took Ellie aside and told her his news. She was visibly shaken to hear he too was leaving and Tony was glad Abby was there to help comfort and reassure her. Tony sent a brief text to Tim and he and Gibbs soon joined them in the lab for a group hug. Tim pointed out that in the last two books, Ellie had her own character (Thea, a name she'd picked) and that it was entirely possible her character would be included and she'd be needed for at least a brief consult. She sniffled with that and nodded, that would be good, even a visit to the set would be fine. Tim had an idea for an acknowledgement of her in the credits but kept it to himself for now. He already knew they'd be thanking Vance, the SecNav and the men and women of the real life agency, he could see specifically adding Ellie too. He had another thought, that when the movie premiered it would happen here in DC and they could have her with them, along with Ducky, Penny, Abby, Jimmy and Breena and of course Director Vance.

In due time, Major Mass Spec needed Abby's attention and the rest of them returned to the bullpen. Tim and Tony handled the interrogations and within hours both suspects gave it up, each nicely implicating the other. The killing had not been planned, it was the Marine Corporal's slip of the tongue, they claimed, making them suspicious that he wanted out from their drug ring and that brought about his demise. Really, they said, he'd brought about his own death. The noose was tightened when the knife suspect #2 had brandished at the agents had the Corporal's DNA buried in the hilt and the handle. Apparently the killer hadn't bothered cleaning the knife properly in the past 8 years.

It was late by the time Gibbs dismissed them, they could write their reports on Monday. During the course of the day Vance told him that they were now off rotation, their job for the rest of the year would be to get all of their paperwork done. Gibbs had anticipated that and the three men had decided to work on Sunday to make sure everything was complete. As DiNozzo would be aboard the Yard through the 7th, he could finish his reports after the others left; he could also review and approve Ellie's work.

Saturday was devoted to packing. Jethro's truck was moved to Fornell's garage where it was prepared for long term storage and what furniture he wanted to keep was moved to the basement. Tim's TV and other electronics not going with him right now were taken to Ducky's for safekeeping. His apartment had a state of the art alarm system, one he built himself but he saw no need to tempt fate by leaving his valuable items there. What clothing they weren't taking was also boxed up and put in Ducky's attic although a lot of items were donated directly to a favorite homeless shelter. By late Saturday afternoon, they were done except for what they would need over the next few days. They all gathered at Ducky's that night for dinner and this time Tobias, Ellie and her husband Jake joined them. Jethro barbecued and the others brought side dishes so that it was more of a potluck. Tim, Jethro and Tony were surprised and pleased when Leon joined them. And when they all had beverages in their hands, Vance rose and toasted the team, thanking them for their excellence and wishing them the best of luck and with a wistful tone in his voice, asked them not to forget to come home when they were finished.

Sunday was 'attack the stack' day as they dove into the paperwork that needed to be completed. By day's end, Tim and Gibbs felt they'd made significant inroads and would be able to finish by Wednesday, their last day. Tony had made progress as well but planned to use New Year's Day and the week following to finish up.

The next days flew by. When Tim and Jethro walked into the office on Wednesday, it was to find the bullpen covered with balloons and banners wishing them well. One of the conference rooms was decorated and given over to drinks and snacks and the pair was feted by their co-workers all day long. They'd finished most of what they'd set out to do, had accomplished much and now they were ready to go onto new adventures, the next part of their lives.

That afternoon Gibbs took a deep breath, stood, looked at his team and then up at the catwalk to see Leon watching him. The two men gave a slow nod and smile to each other and then Gibbs spoke, "Gear up!"

The four of them rose, knowing this was it, their last action as a team, gathered their belongings and turned toward the elevator to find Ducky, Jimmy and Abby waiting for them. Smiling and linking arms, the seven of them walked into the elevator. Facing front they smiled again at their friends and colleagues gathered close by. Then the doors slid closed and Gibbs' team disappeared into history.

**_FADE TO BLACK_**


End file.
